Greencastle
The castle was repaired in 1252 and 1260, but the style of its
hall-keep was then by then a century out of date. It was
later held by the Burgh earls of Ulster and Elizabeth Burgh, the second
wife of Robert the Bruce, is said to have grown up here. The
fortress was wrecked by her brother-in-law, Edward Bruce, in
1316. It was later damaged by the Magennis family from
Dundrum in 1375. It had passed to the Fitz Gerald earls of
Kildare by the time of their downfall in 1534 and in 1547 was said to
be in a decayed condition. The Baganals later remodelled the
castle as a home.
Description
The fortress began life as a hall house,
70' long by 40' wide, with walls 6' thick. The structure has
pilaster buttresses at the corners and is reminiscent of the hall-keep
at Grosmont castle in Wales, which was probably built within 50 years
of 1100. It too was remodelled, having the basement
subdivided at a later date. In the sixteenth century the basement at
Greencastle was given double splayed loops and a new entrance with a
gunloop. The early hall was at first floor level and there were
garderobes to the east. A spiral stair to the west, by the original
entrance, led to the battlements. The pilaster buttresses now
rise into turrets, but external examination shows clearly that the
battlements and probably the garrets are later additions to the
original design.
The keep was set in a rhomboidal
enclosure 155' long by 120' wide with D shaped towers at the
corners. Thee have mostly disappeared with the curtains, the
best preserved portions being to the north-east. A thirteenth century block was
added to the hall to north and south. The whole was surrounded by a
rock cut ditch - again making it very similar to Grosmont.
Copyright©2017
Paul Martin Remfry